1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting and fastening system for a panel, and more particularly to a mounting system for fastening solar modules or other panels. Specifically, one or a plurality of mounting rails and one or a plurality of solar modules or other panels are fastened via fasteners and corresponding engaging slide blocks and clamps to form a fastened assembly.
2. Background of the Invention
Solar energy, as one kind of sustained clean energy, has great potential in development and application. With the present situation of increasing globe energy demand, solar photovoltaic power generation is being developed rapidly as a sustainable substitution for energy.
Solar photovoltaic power generation is a technology for converting solar energy into electrical energy. The core of the technology is semiconductor materials which can release electrons. The most common semiconductor material is silicon that is abundant in the earth's crust. A solar photovoltaic cell has two layers of semiconductors, of which one layer is an anode and the other layer is a cathode. The interface between the anode and the cathode produces electric current when the semiconductor is in the sun.
Solar photovoltaic power generation is a simple technology with low risk, which can almost be applied in any place where there is sunshine. It means that it can be disposed on roofs and walls of public and personal buildings. So solar photovoltaic power generation not only provides a lot of electric power, but also saves land occupation.
The most important feature of solar photovoltaic power generation is its low CO2 emissions from power generation. As well known, CO2, as the main greenhouse gas, is responsible for climate change.
Recently, energy and environment problems become hot worldwide. For the sustainable development of energy and environment, many countries have all focused their attention on solar power. From a long-term point of view, solar photovoltaic power generation will play an important role in world energy consumption in the future.
A mounting system for solar photovoltaic power generation is configured by mounting one or a plurality of solar photovoltaic modules on a mounting support with a certain strength. Most of solar module manufacturers and suppliers don't produce this kind of mounting system.
For installation of solar modules or other panels, German Patent No. DE19717996A1 discloses a connection method of solar collectors and roof brackets. In the method, the roof anchors are fixed on the wood strips on which the tiles are placed on a roof and the other ends of the roof anchors clamp tubes on which the solar collectors are placed. The solar collectors and the tubes are fixed by another bracket. In the mounting method, the space between the tiles and the solar collectors is so small that the installation is inconvenient.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,317 only discloses a top mounting system for solar photovoltaic modules. During installation, it demands that the distance between two rails is a certain width of solar photovoltaic modules and two rails must be just located and fastened on fixed points on a surface of a mounted object. So the fixed points must be precalculated accurately and premade.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,491B1 discloses a mounting method for solar modules with slidable inserts. In the method, the bottom of the mounting rail needs to be drilled at site so that bolts can pass through the drilled holes to fasten the rail and the support. So the mounting method increases the difficulty and strength of installation, and can only be applied to the installation of the top of the solar modules.
German Patent No. DE10132557A1 provides a roof mounting system for solar photovoltaic modules. The mounting system fastens the solar photovoltaic modules between a press board and base rails via bolts. The tooth surfaces of the base rails and the support mounted on the roof are engaged closely via bolts so that the base rails and the support are fastened together. Since the bolts are rotated into the opening grooves formed in the base rails which are made of a relative soft material to achieve the engagement of the system, the tensile strength of the system is affected.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,260,918B2 provides a mounting system for solar modules or other panels. Though the system can implement the installation of tops and back surfaces of solar modules and other panels, it needs that the rigidity of rails meets the demand of the tensile strength of the system, which will increase the wall thickness of the rails and cause an increase in the amount of mounting materials.
US Patent Application Publication No. US200610086382A1 discloses a mounting method in which solar modules are disposed between the upper rail and the lower rail, fasteners pass through the top of the upper rail and the bottom of the lower rail to fasten the solar modules or other panels and the upper and the lower rails together and the lower rail is connected with a support rail via fasteners closely. The whole mounting system needs three rails so that the amount of mounting materials is increased greatly, thereby the mounting costs and workloads are increased.
US Patent Application Publication No. US2006/0156651A discloses a mounting system of an engaging slide block structure. The system needs combine mounting rails with connecting rails to form system rails, so the mounting processes are increased and the amount of mounting materials is increased.
Hence, in conventional mounting systems for solar modules or other panels, few products can accomplish the fastening installation of tops or bottoms of solar modules or other panels on one mounting rail and the fastening connection of solar modules or other panels and the mounting rail on a surface of a mounted object. Additionally, such conventional products, which can perform the above work using one rail, need to use heavy rails with large consumption in metals to improve tensile strength of their mounting systems, so the consumption of raw materials of the mounting systems is high.